U.S. stock index futures rose across the board in pre-market trading on Wednesday, while most major European indices also gained. As of press time, the Nasdaq... S&P 500 futures rose 0.50%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.38%, and Dow Jones futures rose 0.22%.
In terms of individual stocks, Amazon Micron Technology rose over 1% on reports that it is in talks to raise $10 billion from Amazon . Tech stocks were partially higher in pre-market trading; as of press time, Micron Technology... Maiwell Technology rose more than 2%. Lumentum Holdings rose more than 4%, up over 3%.
Netflix Warner Bros. shares rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading after reports that the company favored a deal with Netflix and rejected Paramount's offer.
AMD shares surged more than 1.3% in pre-market trading after the Minister of Industry and Information Technology of China met with the company's CEO, Lisa Su.
precious metals Most sectors rose, with the silver ETF surging over 3% pre-market, and Pan American Silver... Harmony Gold Cannabis stocks rose more than 2%; CBDMD surged over 50% and Canopy Growth rose over 7%.
Trump announced on social media that he will address the nation at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday (10 a.m. Thursday Beijing time). This speech comes at a crucial time as Trump's first year back in the White House draws to a close, with his approval ratings declining and the economy facing headwinds.
This speech provides Trump with a platform to highlight his achievements and outline priorities for the coming year, as Republicans strive to retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections. The White House revealed that Trump will address his historic accomplishments, discuss his future outlook, and perhaps preview new year policies.
Hot News
The outlook for the US dollar and US Treasury bonds is worrying! A top Wall Street strategist says 2025 will be the end of "American exceptionalism."
This year may be remembered as the end of a unique era for markets: "American exceptionalism" may be coming to a close. This is the view of Ron Temple, a top Wall Street strategist and chief market strategist at Lazard Advisory and Asset Management, which manages approximately $248 billion in assets globally.
He believes that 2025 will mark the end of the United States' "special status" in financial markets—that is, "American exceptionalism." This is because growing concerns about the US macroeconomic outlook may prompt investors to reduce their reliance on the dollar in the coming years and eventually sell off US assets such as US Treasuries and even US stocks.
Temple speculates that investors may first reduce their holdings of U.S. assets through currency hedging . He mentions that some of the large investors he has spoken with have indicated an intention to reduce their exposure to the dollar. Temple adds that eventually, investors may be able to begin selling investment products such as U.S. Treasury bonds, and finally, riskier assets such as stocks.
He pointed out that in April of this year, Trump's announcement of tariffs triggered a massive sell-off of US stocks and bonds, giving investors their first taste of such a large-scale sell-off. And this scenario is likely to repeat itself in the future.
Important signal! SpaceX reportedly notified employees to enter pre-IPO quiet period.
Latest news from Wednesday afternoon Beijing time indicates that SpaceX, the leading U.S. rocket and satellite internet company, has notified its employees that the company is entering a "regulatory quiet period," a significant signal that the largest IPO in Earth's history has begun.
According to sources familiar with internal company emails, SpaceX has notified employees that, in order to comply with U.S. securities regulations... According to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), companies are prohibited from commenting on, discussing, or "hyping" a company's plans to go public, including topics such as the company's growth prospects or valuation.
This "gag order" restricts access to social media, interviews, meetings, and public appearances. The so-called quiet period refers to a limited communication period before a company's IPO. Companies are prohibited from making public statements that could boost their stock price to ensure investors have equal access to information.
Following this news, as of press time, the Destiny Tech 100, a closed-end fund holding SpaceX stock, rebounded 5% in pre-market trading, after falling 20% in the first two days of the week. EchoStar Communications, which has agreed to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX, and Rocket Lab, a rocket launch company, also rose more than 1%.
International Energy Agency: Global coal demand will reach a record high in 2025.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday (December 17) that global coal demand will reach a record high in 2025, but is expected to decline by 2030 due to the rise of renewable energy, nuclear power, and natural gas. This is eroding coal's dominance in the power generation sector.
While the key to achieving global climate goals is to move away from coal, it is undeniable that coal remains the primary fuel for global power generation.
According to the IEA’s Coal Report 2025, coal demand is projected to grow by 0.5% to a record 8.85 billion tons in 2025.
Looking at specific countries, coal demand in the United States has increased due to policy support; coal demand in China has remained stable; while demand in India has declined.
Looking ahead, the IEA projects that global coal demand will decline by 3% by 2030 compared to 2025.
Traders bet Thursday's CPI would be "insignificant," causing expectations of volatility in US stocks to plummet.
For the past three years, the monthly U.S. Consumer Price Report has been a closely watched federal data source for stock traders. Now, as investors await Thursday's November inflation report, they are mostly indifferent, rather than anxious as in the past.
According to Barclays bank The compiled data shows that options traders are betting the S&P 500 will move 0.7% in either direction. This is significantly lower than the average actual volatility of 1% reported in the 12 reports up to September.
US Stocks Focus
A multi-billion dollar deal is on the horizon! Amazon may invest in OpenAI and provide it with its own self-developed chips.
According to sources familiar with the matter on Tuesday (December 16), Amazon is working with artificial intelligence... OpenAI is in talks to raise at least $10 billion in initial discussions.
The source said negotiations between Amazon and OpenAI are progressing well, though specific details may change. Amazon may invest $10 billion or more, while OpenAI will use Trainium, Amazon Web Services' (AWS) self-developed AI chip.
This move could push OpenAI's market capitalization above $500 billion, while also helping Amazon expand its influence in the AI chip field and challenge Nvidia. And Google.
According to reports, OpenAI and Amazon began discussions about this matter around October, shortly after OpenAI completed its corporate restructuring. It's also worth noting that this potential deal comes as OpenAI prepares for its initial public offering (IPO), at which time the company's valuation could reach as high as $1 trillion.
Tesla The largest U.S. market suffers a blow: A California judge rules it engaged in deceptive marketing.
Tesla is facing new problems in the U.S. market. A California administrative law judge ruled that Tesla's marketing of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems was deceptive, and the company's licenses to sell and manufacture cars in California should be suspended for 30 days.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) adopted the judge's recommendation and ordered a halt to Tesla's services. The DMV granted Tesla a 30-day suspension of its production and sales permits, but DMV Commissioner Steve Gordon later stated that the suspension would be temporarily halted for 90 days.
This will give Tesla room and time to process what would otherwise be a severe blow in its largest U.S. market. Gordon noted that the DMV wants to give Tesla another chance to correct the situation, adding that he hopes Tesla can find a way to rectify these misleading statements.
Tesla's stock price hit a new high on Tuesday following a milestone in its fully autonomous vehicle testing. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously confirmed that Tesla has begun testing fully autonomous vehicles in Texas, and that driverless cars will soon be available in Austin. Tesla's driverless taxis.
Following this news, Tesla's stock price surged to $489.88 on Tuesday, reaching a high of $491.50. Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives stated on Monday that Tesla's artificial intelligence and robotics... The plan could push the company’s valuation to as high as $3 trillion by the end of 2026.
Major news in the Apple supply chain! Negotiations have begun to consider packaging iPhone chips in India for the first time.
According to foreign media reports on Wednesday, Eastern Time, Apple is in preliminary talks with an Indian chipmaker to assemble and package components for its iPhones.
Previously, Apple 's industrial cooperation with India mainly focused on the final assembly of end products such as iPhones and AirPods. However, the latest developments in negotiations indicate that Apple's presence in India may extend further upstream from existing end-product assembly to the more complex semiconductor industry . Packaging field.
The report states that Apple has held talks with CG Semi, a subsidiary of the Murugappa Group, which is building a semiconductor packaging and testing (OSAT) factory in Sanand, Gujarat, India.
This marks the first time Apple has considered assembling and packaging some of its chips in India. The report also notes that it's unclear which chips will be packaged in the Indian factory, but they are likely display chips.
Analysts point out that Apple's iPhone display panels currently mainly come from the world's three major OLED manufacturers. Panel manufacturers – Samsung Display, LG Display, and JD.com square.
These panel manufacturers' display driver integrated circuit (DDIC) suppliers include Samsung, Novatek, and Himax Technologies. And LX Semicon, while these suppliers mainly rely on manufacturers in South Korea, Taiwan or mainland China for chip manufacturing and packaging.
(Article source: Hafu Securities )
